Ken Carter, who was, I believe, Head of Sculpture at Exeter's College of Art and Design was commissioned some 50 years ago to fill the niches of the Chapter House of Exeter Cathedral with a series of colossal sculptures inspired by the story of the Testament from the Creation to the Nativity. The work took some four years to complete and was this consummate Exeter sculptor's masterpiece. The Testament Sculpture was well received and was one of the treasures of the Cathedral for half a century and still is. It is a total work of art. The sculpture complements the mediaeval building and the building complements the sculpture. The intention is to rip this Gesamptkuenstwerk apart. It can still be appreciated, but not for much longer, in the Chapter House where it belongs which now serves coffee in the very excellent new Cloisters complex. It is worth drinking coffee there just to see it.
The Cathedral where the sculpture belongs has conspired to get rid of half the baby by making a gift of it to Exeter College, a secular educational establishment where it does not belong. I use the word conspired advisably for it seems clear that all the decisions have been made by a small cabal of individuals and that there has been a deliberate suppression of public information about these shameful plans. The whole matter needs urgent public re-examination!
The matter will do nothing for the reputation of the Cathedral, the College, the Artist, nor for the City of Exeter. At the moment there is 'push back' ( https://matthewcarter.co.nz/ken-carter-and-his-sculpture/.) and there is a petition to the Cathedral not to be so silly. :https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/the_very_reverend_jonathan_greener_dean_of_exeter__save_the_testament_sculptures_at_exeter_cathedral/?t
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